South Korea has called for an early end to the controversy over its secret nuclear experiments, saying a resolution will allow Seoul to resume efforts to resolve the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program.

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young made the comments Tuesday following talks in Seoul with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

The U.N nuclear watchdog will meet in November to determine whether South Korea's actions should be referred to the U.N. Security Council.

South Korea has admitted that it conducted a plutonium-based experiment in 1982, as well as a uranium-enrichment test in 2000. Seoul says the experiments were purely for academic scientific purposes.